Longreads just celebrated its fourth birthday, and it’s been a thrill to watch this community grow since we introduced this service and Twitter hashtag in 2009. Thank you to everyone who participates, whether it’s as a reader, a publisher, a writer—or all three. And thanks to the Longreads Members who have made it possible for us […]
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‘Quebrado’: The Life and Death of a Young Activist
“If you survive me, tell them this: I never gave up.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle and Readmill users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. *** 1. The Empathy Exams Leslie Jamison | The Believer | February 3, 2014 | 37 minutes (9,369 words) An affecting essay about medical […]
Matthew Aldridge: My Top 5 #longreads, 2010
aldridge: My Top 5 #longreads of 2010, featuring a thief, a killer, a fraudster, two musicians, and a film critic: The Art of the Steal Joshuah Bearman, Wired “Blanchard slowly approached the display and removed the already loosened screws, carefully using a butter knife to hold in place the two long rods that would trigger […]
Teen Mathletes Do Battle at Algorithm Olympics
Teen Mathletes Do Battle at Algorithm Olympics Neal Wu’s last chance for international glory, and maybe America’s, too, begins with a sound like a hippo crunching through a field of dry leaves—the sound of 315 computer prodigies at 315 workstations ripping into 315 gray envelopes in unison. “You have five hours,” a voice booms across […]
The Desperate Battle Against Killer Bat Plague
The Desperate Battle Against Killer Bat Plague At this point, it’s a losing battle. Bats with noses dusted by the Geomyces destructans fungus that causes WNS were seen for the first time in early 2006, in upstate New York. One year later, biologists realized that WNS could kill bats in large numbers. By 2008, mortality […]
Rich Ziade: My Top 5 Longreads of 2010
Rich Ziade is partner and lead strategist at Arc90, notable for many things including creation of the wondrous Readability app. (Ed. note: We know: One of the stories below is from 2009, and another is from 2007.) *** • Paul Graham ruminates over the deflationary value of stuff. • Zak Smith debates which is more […]
Amy K. Nelson's Top 6 Longreads of 2010: Murder mysteries, baseball, The Price Is Right
Amy K. Nelson is a writer for ESPN.com. (She and Elizabeth Merrill also wrote this great longread about sports and infidelity.) *** Longreads asked me to compile my Top 5 of 2010. An impossible task, and I know a few of mine are on other people’s lists. Here’s what I drew up: The Case of the […]
Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game
Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game “These wack-jobs who spend 20 hours a week stacking coupons? That stuff drives us batty,” says John Morgan, executive director of the Association of Coupon Professionals. “They dance all over the rules. These zealots may be following the letter of the law, but I don’t think […]
Algorithms Take Control of Wall Street
Algorithms Take Control of Wall Street “The kind of trading strategies our system uses are not the kind of strategies that humans use,” Kharitonov continues. “We’re not competing with humans, because when you’re trading thousands of stocks simultaneously, trying to capture very, very small changes, the human brain is just not good at that. We’re […]

